There are a wide variety of associated devices that can be connected to a gaming machine, such as a slot machine or a video poker machine. Some examples of these devices are lights, ticket printers, card readers, speakers, bill validators, ticket readers, coin acceptors, display panels, key pads, coin hoppers, and button pads. Many of these devices are built into the gaming machine or components associated with the gaming machine, such as a top box which usually sits on top of the gaming machine.
Typically, utilizing a master gaming controller, the gaming machine controls various combinations of devices that allow a player to play a game on the gaming machine and also encourage game play on the gaming machine. For example, a game played on a gaming machine usually requires a player to input money or an indicia of credit into the gaming machine, indicate a wager amount, and initiate game play. These steps require the gaming machine to control input devices, such as bill validators and coin acceptors, to accept money into the gaming machine and recognize user inputs from devices, including key pads, button pads, card readers, and ticket readers, to determine the wager amount, and initiate game play. After game play has been initiated, the gaming machine determines a game outcome, presents the game outcome to the player and may dispense an award of some type depending on the outcome of the game. The operations described above may be carried out on the gaming machine when the gaming machine is operating as a “stand alone” unit or linked in a network of some type to a group of gaming machines.
As technology in the gaming industry progresses, more and more gaming services are being provided to gaming machines via communication networks that link groups of gaming machines to a remote computer, such as a host server, that provides one or more gaming services. As an example, gaming services that may be provided by a remote computer to a gaming machine via a communication network of some type include player tracking, accounting, cashless award ticketing, lottery, progressive games, and bonus games.
Typically, network gaming services enhance the game playing capabilities of the gaming machine or provide some operational advantage in regard to maintaining the gaming machine, such as better accounting management or player tracking. Accordingly, network gaming services provided to groups of gaming machines linked over a dedicated communication network of some type have become very popular in the gaming industry.
In general, the dedicated communication network is not accessible to the public. Due to the sensitive nature of much of the information on the dedicated networks, for example, electronic fund transfers and player tracking data, usually the manufacturer of a host system, such as a player tracking system, or group of host systems, employs a particular networking language having proprietary protocols. For instance, 10-20 different companies produce player tracking host systems where each host system may use different protocols. These proprietary protocols are usually considered highly confidential and not released publicly. Thus, whenever a new host system is introduced for use with a gaming machine, rather than trying to interpret all the different protocols utilized by different manufacturers, the new host system is typically designed as a separate network. Consequently, as more host systems are introduced, the independent network structures continue to build up in the casino.
Further, in the gaming industry, gaming machines are generated by many different manufacturers. The communication protocols on the gaming machine are typically hard-wired into the gaming machine and each gaming machine manufacturer may utilize a different proprietary communication protocol. A gaming machine manufacturer may also produce host systems in which case their gaming machine are compatible with their own host systems. However, in a heterogeneous gaming environment, such as a casino, gaming machines from many different manufacturers each with their own communication protocol may be connected to host systems from many different manufacturers each with their own communication protocol. Therefore, communication compatibility issues regarding the protocols used by the gaming machines in the system and protocols used by the host systems must be considered.
To justify the costs associated with the infrastructure needed to provide network gaming services on a dedicated communication network, a certain critical number of gaming machines linked in a network of some type must utilize the service. Thus, many of the networked gaming services are only provided at larger gaming establishments where a large number of gaming machines are deployed.
A progressive game network offering progressive game services is one example where a group of gaming machines are linked together using a dedicated network to provide enhanced game playing service. The progressive game services enabled by the progressive game network increase the game playing capabilities of a particular gaming machine by enabling a larger jackpot than would be possible if the gaming machine was operating in a stand alone mode. The potential size of the jackpot increases as the number of gaming machines connected in the progressive network is increased. The size of the jackpot tends to increase game play on gaming machines offering a progressive jackpot which justifies the costs associated with installing and maintaining the dedicated progressive gaming network.
As earlier discussed, a particular gaming entity may also desire to provide network gaming services which provide some operational advantage. Thus, other dedicated networks may also connect the gaming machines to host servers which track the performance of gaming machines under the control of the entity, such as for accounting management, electronic fund transfers (EFTs), cashless ticketing, such as EZPay™, marketing management, and data tracking, such as player tracking.
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram depicting gaming machines within a dedicated communication network connected to a host server via a typical data collection unit (DCU) in the prior art. In FIG. 1, gaming machine 102, and the other gaming machines 130, 132, 134, and 136, typically include a main cabinet 106 and a top box 104. The main cabinet 106 usually houses the main gaming elements and can also house peripheral systems, such as those that utilize dedicated gaming networks. The top box 104 may also be used to house these peripheral systems.
As earlier described, the master gaming controller 108 typically controls the game play on the gaming machine 102 and receives or sends data to various input/output devices 111 on the gaming machine 102. The master gaming controller 108 may also communicate with a display 110, electronic funds transfer system 112, bonus system 114, EZPay™ system 116, such as cashless ticketing system, and player tracking system 120. The systems of the gaming machine 102 typically communicate the data onto the network 122 via a communication board 118.
In the past, the amount of data transmitted over gaming networks in a casino environment has not been large. For instance, metering information, such as the amount of money input into the gaming machine and the amount of money output from the gaming machine, requires only a small amount of network bandwidth to transmit. Large data transfers, such as transmitting large files between gaming devices, have not been performed in a casino environment. Large file transfers have not been implemented because of regulatory and security requirements unique to the gaming industry.
In the present illustration, the gaming machines, 102, 130, 132, 134, and 136 are connected to a dedicated gaming network 122. In general, the DCU 124 functions as an intermediary between the different gaming machines on the network 122 and the host server 128. In general, the DCU 124 receives data transmitted from the gaming machines and sends the data to the host server 128 over a transmission path 126. In some instances, when the hardware interface used by the gaming machine is not compatible with the host server 128, a translator 125 may be used to convert serial data from the DCU 124 to a format accepted by the host server 128. The translator may provide this conversion service to a plurality of DCU's, such as 124, 140 and 141. The DCU's in the network don't communicate with each other.
Further, in some dedicated gaming networks, the DCU 124 can receive data transmitted from the host server 128 for communication to the gaming machines on the gaming network. The received data are typically communicated synchronously to the gaming machines on the gaming network. Within a casino, the gaming machines 102, 130, 132, 134 and 136 are typically located on the gaming floor for player access while the host server 128 is usually located in the backroom of the casino or at another location. Thus, transmission path 126 is usually the sole transmission path between the DCU 124 and the host server 128. Should the transmission path 126 be disrupted or severed, data sent from the gaming machines is either lost, or, in some cases, may need to be individually collected from each of the gaming machines on the gaming network and then separately provided to the host server 128.
In a gaming network, gaming machines, such as 102, 130, 132, 134 and 136, may be connected through multiple communication paths to a number of gaming devices that provide gaming services. For example, gaming machine 102 is connected to four communication paths, 122, 148, 149 and 150. As described above, communication path 122, allows the gaming machine 102 to send information to host server 128. Via communication path 148, the gaming machine 102 is connected to a clerk validation terminal 142. The clerk validation terminal 142 is connected to a translator 143 and a cashless system server 144 that are used to provide cashless gaming services to the gaming machine 102. Gaming machine 130, 132, 134 and 136 are also connected to the clerk validation terminal 142 and may receive cashless system services.
Via communication path 149, the gaming machine 102 is connected to a wide area progressive (WAP) device 146. The WAP is connected to a progressive system server 147 that may be used to provide progressive gaming services to the gaming machines. Although not shown, the other gaming machines may also be connected to the WAP device 146. Via communication path 150, the gaming machine 102 may be connected with additional gaming devices (not shown) that provide other gaming services.
The gaming devices located on the different communication paths, such as the four communication paths, 122, 148, 149 and 150 don't communicate with one another because each communication path is located on a separate and independent network. For instance, the WAP 146 on communication path 149 doesn't communicate with the CVT 142 on communication path 142. As another example, cashless system server 144 does not communicate with the progressive system server 147 or the host server 128.
As described above, each gaming machine (i.e., 102, 130, 132 and 134) may be connected through multiple communications paths on separate and independent networks to a number of gaming devices executing a gaming application. With this network topology, the total number of communication paths is proportional to the number of gaming applications with an independent network. For a large number of gaming machines and gaming applications in the network, the large total number of communication paths increases the costs of maintaining the network, makes reconfiguring the network difficult and time consuming and makes expanding the network costly (e.g., adding more gaming devices).
FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram depicting one example of the DCU 124 shown in FIG. 1 in the prior art. Generally, the DCU 124 functions to accept a single network connection 202 from each of a plurality of gaming machines (16 gaming machines are shown in the figure). On the gaming machine side, the DCU 124 is not connected to any other gaming devices other than the gaming machines. The DCU 124 polls for data from each of the gaming machines and converts the data signals to an electronic signal data format signal accepted by the host server 128 (e.g., 5 volts to 28 volts). Then, the DCU 124 outputs the formatted electronic data signal to the host server 128. The DCU 124 may also receive a formatted data signal from the host server 128, convert the formatted data signal to an electronic signal format used by the gaming machines and send the reformatted signal to the gaming machines. Electronic signal conversion such as from a signal format used by the gaming machines (e.g., fiber optic, RS-232, RS-485) to a signal format used by the host is provided by the electronic signal conversion element 206. For instance, a fiber optic data signal used by the gaming machines may be converted to an RS-232 signal format used by the host server.
The DCU 124 may communicate with the gaming machines using a communication connection, such as an RS232 communication connection, an RS485 communication connection or fiber optic communication connection. The DCU 124 performs the communications using a multi-drop system 204. In the multi-drop system, all messages are broadcast to all of the gaming machines connected to the DCU 124. For instance, when DCU 124 polls an individual gaming machine for information, all of the gaming machines receive the message requesting polling information (i.e., the message is broadcast to all the machines on the network). However, only the gaming machine identified in the request responds to the message. As another example, when a message is sent to an individual gaming machine from a host server, all of the gaming machines receive the message but only the addressed gaming machine will process the message.
Typically, the DCU 124 may be connected to a maximum of 32 gaming machines. Thus, the DCU 124 is an important node in the gaming network. Any difficulties within the DCU 124 or within the network between the DCU 124 and the host server may result in a disruption of services for a large number of gaming machines.
In view of the above, it would be desirable to have a device and/or method which provides communication redundancy and network mediation between gaming machines and associated servers on a gaming communication network to mitigate the loss of data during a disruption in the transmission path between the DCU and the host servers, which simplifies the gaming communication network topology and which increases the capabilities of the gaming communication network. It is also desirable to provide methods and apparatus that can mediate disparate communication protocols in a heterogeneous network environment of mixed gaming application and gaming devices from various suppliers.